Invalids and others confined to wheel chairs have a certain amount of horizontal mobility on surfaces where wheels can roll. However, such persons may desire rocking motion in the manner of a rocking chair. The desire to rock may arise from a wish to relieve the monotony of sitting in a wheel chair. It may also arise from the desire of a wheel chair-confined person to rock a baby she/he is holding. In addition, there is some medical evidence that rocking persons confined to wheel chairs can be beneficial in terms of increased blood circulation, stress relief, respiratory assistance and other advantageous physical effects. Unfortunately, a standard wheel chair does not permit such rocking motion.
Transferring a wheel chair-confined person to and from a conventional rocking chair is a difficult and potentially harmful process. Moreover, for some patients, who have no strong assistance, such a transfer is simply not possible. It is therefore preferable to find a way to deliver rocking motion to the wheel chair itself.
Prior art devices for permitting wheel chairs to rock appear to be of two general types. There are wheel chairs that are specially adapted to provide rocking motion as well as normal rolling motion. Examples of such devices are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 404,767, 745,334 and 4,324,414. There are also rocking adapters that are made for use with standard wheel chairs. Examples of such devices are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,118,046, 4,768,497 and in a brochure titled, "The Original Carolina Rocker," by Artec, Inc. of Greenville, S.C. 29616.
A wheel chair that is specially adapted to provide rocking motion as well as normal rolling motion has the disadvantage that the rocking facility can only be used by the one person using that wheel chair. Rocking adapters that are made for interchangeable use with standard wheel chairs solve the preceding problem and can, at least in principle, be used by multiple persons, each in turn. But such adapters may be difficult to access by a wheel chair-confined person acting alone and may lack safe, stable holding of the wheel chair during rocking. They may also be difficult to transport, limiting their ability to be used by multiple persons, or may require the wheel chair occupant to provide the rocking motion.
A device for supporting and rocking a wheel chair that solves the preceding problems would be a useful advance over the prior art.